---
type: article
status: Published
slug: "katha-upanishad"
title: "Katha Upanishad"
author: "Anonymous"
tradition: "hindu"
language: "sa"
genre: "Upanishad"
period: "c. 5th–3rd c. BCE"
source_url: "https://sa.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%A0%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%AA%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B7%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%8D%2F%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%A5%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%A7%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%83%2F%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%A5%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%80&oldid=403120"
certainty: observed
source: "https://sa.wikisource.org/w/index.php?title=%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%A0%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%AA%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B7%E0%A4%A4%E0%A5%8D%2F%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%A5%E0%A4%AE%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%A7%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%AF%E0%A4%83%2F%E0%A4%AA%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%A5%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%80&oldid=403120"
unknowns: none known
---
# Katha Upanishad

## Original

### Part One, First Valli

ॐ सह नाववतु ।
सह नौ भुनक्तु ।
सहवीर्यं करवावहै ।
तेजस्वि नावधीतमस्तु ।
मा विद्विषावहै ॥
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥

1.1.1 ॐ उशन् ह वै वाजश्रवसः सर्ववेदसं ददौ ।
तस्य ह नचिकेता नाम पुत्र आस ॥

1.1.2 तँ ह कुमारँ सन्तं दक्षिणासु
नीयमानासु श्रद्धाविवेश सोऽमन्यत

1.1.3 पीतोदका जग्धतृणा दुग्धदोहा निरिन्द्रियाः ।
अनन्दा नाम ते लोकास्तान् स गच्छति ता ददत्

1.1.4 स होवाच पितरं तत कस्मै मां दास्यसीति ।
द्वितीयं तृतीयं तँ होवाच मृत्यवे त्वा ददामीति

1.1.5 बहूनामेमि प्रथमो बहूनामेमि मध्यमः ।
किँ स्विद्यमस्य कर्तव्यं यन्मयाऽद्य करिष्यति

1.1.6 अनुपश्य यथा पूर्वे प्रतिपश्य तथाऽपरे ।
सस्यमिव मर्त्यः पच्यते सस्यमिवाजायते पुनः

1.1.7 वैश्वानरः प्रविशत्यतिथिर्ब्राह्मणो गृहान् ।
तस्यैताँ शान्तिं कुर्वन्ति हर वैवस्वतोदकम्

1.1.8 आशाप्रतीक्षे संगतँ सूनृतां
चेष्टापूर्ते पुत्रपशूँश्च सर्वान् ।
एतद्वृङ्क्ते पुरुषस्याल्पमेधसो
यस्यानश्नन्वसति ब्राह्मणो गृहे

1.1.9 तिस्रो रात्रीर्यदवात्सीर्गृहे मे-
ऽनश्नन् ब्रह्मन्नतिथिर्नमस्यः ।
नमस्तेऽस्तु ब्रह्मन् स्वस्ति मेऽस्तु
तस्मात्प्रति त्रीन्वरान्वृणीष्व

1.1.10 शान्तसंकल्पः सुमना यथा स्याद्
वीतमन्युर्गौतमो माऽभि मृत्यो ।
त्वत्प्रसृष्टम् माऽभिवदेत्प्रतीत
एतत् त्रयाणां प्रथमं वरं वृणे

1.1.11 यथा पुरस्ताद् भविता प्रतीत
औद्दालकिरारुणिर्मत्प्रसृष्टः ।
सुखँ रात्रीः शयिता वीतमन्युः
त्वां ददृशिवान्मृत्युमुखात् प्रमुक्तम्

1.1.12 स्वर्गे लोके न भयं किंचनास्ति
न तत्र त्वं न जरया बिभेति ।
उभे तीर्त्वाऽशनायापिपासे
शोकातिगो मोदते स्वर्गलोके

1.1.13 स त्वमग्निँ स्वर्ग्यमध्येषि मृत्यो
प्रब्रूहि त्वँ श्रद्दधानाय मह्यम् ।
स्वर्गलोका अमृतत्वं भजन्त
एतद् द्वितीयेन वृणे वरेण

1.1.14 प्र ते ब्रवीमि तदु मे निबोध
स्वर्ग्यमग्निं नचिकेतः प्रजानन् ।
अनन्तलोकाप्तिमथो प्रतिष्ठां
विद्धि त्वमेतं निहितं गुहायाम्

1.1.15 लोकादिमग्निं तमुवाच तस्मै
या इष्टका यावतीर्वा यथा वा ।
स चापि तत्प्रत्यवदद्यथोक्तं
अथास्य मृत्युः पुनरेवाह तुष्टः

1.1.16 तमब्रवीत् प्रीयमाणो महात्मा
वरं तवेहाद्य ददामि भूयः ।
तवैव नाम्ना भविताऽयमग्निः
सृङ्कां चेमामनेकरूपां गृहाण

1.1.17 त्रिणाचिकेतस्त्रिभिरेत्य सन्धिं
त्रिकर्मकृत्तरति जन्ममृत्यू ।
ब्रह्मजज्ञं देवमीड्यं विदित्वा
निचाय्येमाँ शान्तिमत्यन्तमेति

1.1.18 त्रिणाचिकेतस्त्रयमेतद्विदित्वा
य एवं विद्वाँश्चिनुते नाचिकेतम् ।
स मृत्युपाशान् पुरतः प्रणोद्य
शोकातिगो मोदते स्वर्गलोके

1.1.19 एष तेऽग्निर्नचिकेतः स्वर्ग्यो
यमवृणीथा द्वितीयेन वरेण ।
एतमग्निं तवैव प्रवक्ष्यन्ति जनासः
तृतीयं वरं नचिकेतो वृणीष्व

1.1.20 येयं प्रेते विचिकित्सा मनुष्ये-
ऽस्तीत्येके नायमस्तीति चैके ।
एतद्विद्यामनुशिष्टस्त्वयाऽहं
वराणामेष वरस्तृतीयः

1.1.21 देवैरत्रापि विचिकित्सितं पुरा
न हि सुविज्ञेयमणुरेष धर्मः ।
अन्यं वरं नचिकेतो वृणीष्व
मा मोपरोत्सीरति मा सृजैनम्

1.1.22 देवैरत्रापि विचिकित्सितं किल
त्वं च मृत्यो यन्न सुज्ञेयमात्थ ।
वक्ता चास्य त्वादृगन्यो न लभ्यो
नान्यो वरस्तुल्य एतस्य कश्चित्

1.1.23 शतायुषः पुत्रपौत्रान्वृणीष्वा
बहून्पशून् हस्तिहिरण्यमश्वान् ।
भूमेर्महदायतनं वृणीष्व
स्वयं च जीव शरदो यावदिच्छसि

1.1.24 एतत्तुल्यं यदि मन्यसे वरं
वृणीष्व वित्तं चिरजीविकां च ।
महाभूमौ नचिकेतस्त्वमेधि
कामानां त्वा कामभाजं करोमि

1.1.25 ये ये कामा दुर्लभा मर्त्यलोके
सर्वान् कामाँश्छन्दतः प्रार्थयस्व ।
इमा रामाः सरथाः सतूर्या
न हीदृशा लम्भनीया मनुष्यैः ।
आभिर्मत्प्रत्ताभिः परिचारयस्व
नचिकेतो मरणं माऽनुप्राक्षीः

1.1.26 श्वोभावा मर्त्यस्य यदन्तकैतत्
सर्वेंद्रियाणां जरयंति तेजः ।
अपि सर्वं जीवितमल्पमेव
तवैव वाहास्तव नृत्यगीते

1.1.27 न वित्तेन तर्पणीयो मनुष्यो
लप्स्यामहे वित्तमद्राक्ष्म चेत्त्वा ।
जीविष्यामो यावदीशिष्यसि त्वं
वरस्तु मे वरणीयः स एव

1.1.28 अजीर्यताममृतानामुपेत्य
जीर्यन्मर्त्यः क्वधःस्थः प्रजानन् ।
अभिध्यायन् वर्णरतिप्रमोदान्
अतिदीर्घे जीविते को रमेत

1.1.29 यस्मिन्निदं विचिकित्सन्ति मृत्यो
यत्साम्पराये महति ब्रूहि नस्तत् ।
योऽयं वरो गूढमनुप्रविष्टो
नान्यं तस्मान्नचिकेता वृणीते

### Part One, Second Valli

1.2.1 अन्यच्छ्रेयोऽन्यदुतैव प्रेय-
स्ते उभे नानार्थे पुरुषँ सिनीतः ।
तयोः श्रेय आददानस्य साधु
भवति हीयतेऽर्थाद्य उ प्रेयो वृणीते

1.2.2 श्रेयश्च प्रेयश्च मनुष्यमेतः
तौ सम्परीत्य विविनक्ति धीरः ।
श्रेयो हि धीरोऽभि प्रेयसो वृणीते
प्रेयो मन्दो योगक्षेमाद्वृणीते

1.2.3 स त्वं प्रियान्प्रियरूपांश्च कामान्
अभिध्यायन्नचिकेतोऽत्यस्राक्षीः ।
नैतां सृङ्कां वित्तमयीमवाप्तो
यस्यां मज्जन्ति बहवो मनुष्याः

1.2.4 दूरमेते विपरीते विषूची
अविद्या या च विद्येति ज्ञाता ।
विद्याभीप्सिनं नचिकेतसं मन्ये
न त्वा कामा बहवोऽलोलुपन्त

1.2.5 अविद्यायामन्तरे वर्तमानाः
स्वयं धीराः पण्डितंमन्यमानाः ।
दन्द्रम्यमाणाः परियन्ति मूढा
अन्धेनैव नीयमाना यथान्धाः

1.2.6 न साम्परायः प्रतिभाति बालं
प्रमाद्यन्तं वित्तमोहेन मूढम् ।
अयं लोको नास्ति पर इति मानी
पुनः पुनर्वशमापद्यते मे

1.2.7 श्रवणायापि बहुभिर्यो न लभ्यः
शृण्वन्तोऽपि बहवो यं न विद्युः ।
आश्चर्यो वक्ता कुशलोऽस्य लब्धा
आश्चर्यो ज्ञाता कुशलानुशिष्टः

1.2.8 न नरेणावरेण प्रोक्त एष
सुविज्ञेयो बहुधा चिन्त्यमानः ।
अनन्यप्रोक्ते गतिरत्र नास्ति
अणीयान् ह्यतर्क्यमणुप्रमाणात्

1.2.9 नैषा तर्केण मतिरापनेया
प्रोक्तान्येनैव सुज्ञानाय प्रेष्ठ ।
यां त्वमापः सत्यधृतिर्बतासि
त्वादृङ्नो भूयान्नचिकेतः प्रष्टा

1.2.10 जानाम्यहं शेवधिरित्यनित्यं
न ह्यध्रुवैः प्राप्यते हि ध्रुवं तत् ।
ततो मया नाचिकेतश्चितोऽग्निः
अनित्यैर्द्रव्यैः प्राप्तवानस्मि नित्यम्

1.2.11 कामस्याप्तिं जगतः प्रतिष्ठां
क्रतोरानन्त्यमभयस्य पारम् ।
स्तोममहदुरुगायं प्रतिष्ठां दृष्ट्वा
धृत्या धीरो नचिकेतोऽत्यस्राक्षीः

1.2.12 तं दुर्दर्शं गूढमनुप्रविष्टं
गुहाहितं गह्वरेष्ठं पुराणम् ।
अध्यात्मयोगाधिगमेन देवं
मत्वा धीरो हर्षशोकौ जहाति

1.2.13 एतच्छ्रुत्वा सम्परिगृह्य मर्त्यः
प्रवृह्य धर्म्यमणुमेतमाप्य ।
स मोदते मोदनीयँ हि लब्ध्वा
विवृतँ सद्म नचिकेतसं मन्ये

1.2.14 अन्यत्र धर्मादन्यत्राधर्मा-
दन्यत्रास्मात्कृताकृतात् ।
अन्यत्र भूताच्च भव्याच्च
यत्तत्पश्यसि तद्वद

1.2.15 सर्वे वेदा यत्पदमामनन्ति
तपाँसि सर्वाणि च यद्वदन्ति ।
यदिच्छन्तो ब्रह्मचर्यं चरन्ति
तत्ते पदँ संग्रहेण ब्रवीम्योमित्येतत्

1.2.16 एतद्ध्येवाक्षरं ब्रह्म एतद्ध्येवाक्षरं परम् ।
एतद्ध्येवाक्षरं ज्ञात्वा यो यदिच्छति तस्य तत्

1.2.17 एतदालम्बनँ श्रेष्ठमेतदालम्बनं परम् ।
एतदालम्बनं ज्ञात्वा ब्रह्मलोके महीयते

1.2.18 न जायते म्रियते वा विपश्चिन्
नायं कुतश्चिन्न बभूव कश्चित् ।
अजो नित्यः शाश्वतोऽयं पुराणो
न हन्यते हन्यमाने शरीरे

1.2.19 हन्ता चेन्मन्यते हन्तुँ हतश्चेन्मन्यते हतम् ।
उभौ तौ न विजानीतो नायँ हन्ति न हन्यते

1.2.20 अणोरणीयान्महतो महीया-
नात्माऽस्य जन्तोर्निहितो गुहायाम् ।
तमक्रतुः पश्यति वीतशोको
धातुप्रसादान्महिमानमात्मनः

1.2.21 आसीनो दूरं व्रजति शयानो याति सर्वतः ।
कस्तं मदामदं देवं मदन्यो ज्ञातुमर्हति

1.2.22 अशरीरँ शरीरेष्वनवस्थेष्ववस्थितम् ।
महान्तं विभुमात्मानं मत्वा धीरो न शोचति

1.2.23 नायमात्मा प्रवचनेन लभ्यो
न मेधया न बहुना श्रुतेन ।
यमेवैष वृणुते तेन लभ्यः
तस्यैष आत्मा विवृणुते तनूँ स्वाम्

1.2.24 नाविरतो दुश्चरितान्नाशान्तो नासमाहितः ।
नाशान्तमानसो वाऽपि प्रज्ञानेनैनमाप्नुयात्

1.2.25 यस्य ब्रह्म च क्षत्रं च उभे भवत ओदनः ।
मृत्युर्यस्योपसेचनं क इत्था वेद यत्र सः

### Part One, Third Valli

1.3.1 ऋतं पिबन्तौ सुकृतस्य लोके
गुहां प्रविष्टौ परमे परार्धे ।
छायातपौ ब्रह्मविदो वदन्ति
पञ्चाग्नयो ये च त्रिणाचिकेताः

1.3.2 यः सेतुरीजानानामक्षरं ब्रह्म यत् परम् ।
अभयं तितीर्षतां पारं नाचिकेतँ शकेमहि

1.3.3 आत्मानँ रथिनं विद्धि शरीरँ रथमेव तु ।
बुद्धिं तु सारथिं विद्धि मनः प्रग्रहमेव च

1.3.4 इन्द्रियाणि हयानाहुर्विषयाँ स्तेषु गोचरान् ।
आत्मेन्द्रियमनोयुक्तं भोक्तेत्याहुर्मनीषिणः

1.3.5 यस्त्वविज्ञानवान्भवत्ययुक्तेन मनसा सदा ।
तस्येन्द्रियाण्यवश्यानि दुष्टाश्वा इव सारथेः

1.3.6 यस्तु विज्ञानवान्भवति युक्तेन मनसा सदा ।
तस्येन्द्रियाणि वश्यानि सदश्वा इव सारथेः

1.3.7 यस्त्वविज्ञानवान्भवत्यमनस्कः सदाऽशुचिः ।
न स तत्पदमाप्नोति संसारं चाधिगच्छति

1.3.8 यस्तु विज्ञानवान्भवति समनस्कः सदा शुचिः ।
स तु तत्पदमाप्नोति यस्माद्भूयो न जायते

1.3.9 विज्ञानसारथिर्यस्तु मनः प्रग्रहवान्नरः ।
सोऽध्वनः पारमाप्नोति तद्विष्णोः परमं पदम्

1.3.10 इन्द्रियेभ्यः परा ह्यर्था अर्थेभ्यश्च परं मनः ।
मनसस्तु परा बुद्धिर्बुद्धेरात्मा महान्परः

1.3.11 महतः परमव्यक्तमव्यक्तात्पुरुषः परः ।
पुरुषान्न परं किंचित्सा काष्ठा सा परा गतिः

1.3.12 एष सर्वेषु भूतेषु गूढोऽऽत्मा न प्रकाशते ।
दृश्यते त्वग्र्यया बुद्ध्या सूक्ष्मया सूक्ष्मदर्शिभिः

1.3.13 यच्छेद्वाङ्मनसी प्राज्ञस्तद्यच्छेज्ज्ञान आत्मनि ।
ज्ञानमात्मनि महति नियच्छेत्तद्यच्छेच्छान्त आत्मनि

1.3.14 उत्तिष्ठत जाग्रत
प्राप्य वरान्निबोधत ।
क्षुरस्य धारा निशिता दुरत्यया
दुर्गं पथस्तत्कवयो वदन्ति

1.3.15 अशब्दमस्पर्शमरूपमव्ययं
तथाऽरसं नित्यमगन्धवच्च यत् ।
अनाद्यनन्तं महतः परं ध्रुवं
निचाय्य तन्मृत्युमुखात् प्रमुच्यते

1.3.16 नाचिकेतमुपाख्यानं मृत्युप्रोक्तँ सनातनम् ।
उक्त्वा श्रुत्वा च मेधावी ब्रह्मलोके महीयते

1.3.17 य इमं परमं गुह्यं श्रावयेद् ब्रह्मसंसदि ।
प्रयतः श्राद्धकाले वा तदानन्त्याय कल्पते ।
तदानन्त्याय कल्पत इति

### Part Two, First Valli

2.1.1 पराञ्चि खानि व्यतृणत् स्वयम्भू-
स्तस्मात्पराङ्पश्यति नान्तरात्मन् ।
कश्चिद्धीरः प्रत्यगात्मानमैक्ष-
दावृत्तचक्षुरमृतत्वमिच्छन्

2.1.2 पराचः कामाननुयन्ति बाला-
स्ते मृत्योर्यन्ति विततस्य पाशम् ।
अथ धीरा अमृतत्वं विदित्वा
ध्रुवमध्रुवेष्विह न प्रार्थयन्ते

2.1.3 येन रूपं रसं गन्धं शब्दान् स्पर्शाँश्च मैथुनान् ।
एतेनैव विजानाति किमत्र परिशिष्यते ।
एतद्वै तत्

2.1.4 स्वप्नान्तं जागरितान्तं चोभौ येनानुपश्यति ।
महान्तं विभुमात्मानं मत्वा धीरो न शोचति

2.1.5 य इमं मध्वदं वेद आत्मानं जीवमन्तिकात् ।
ईशानं भूतभव्यस्य न ततो विजुगुप्सते ।
एतद्वै तत्

2.1.6 यः पूर्वं तपसो जातमद्भ्यः पूर्वमजायत ।
गुहां प्रविश्य तिष्ठन्तं यो भूतेभिर्व्यपश्यत ।
एतद्वै तत्

2.1.7 या प्राणेन संभवत्यदितिर्देवतामयी ।
गुहां प्रविश्य तिष्ठन्तीं या भूतेभिर्व्यजायत ।
एतद्वै तत्

2.1.8 अरण्योर्निहितो जातवेदा गर्भ इव सुभृतो गर्भिणीभिः ।
दिवे दिवे ईड्यो जागृवद्भिर्हविष्मद्भिर्मनुष्येभिरग्निः ।
एतद्वै तत्

2.1.9 यतश्चोदेति सूर्योऽस्तं यत्र च गच्छति ।
तं देवाः सर्वेऽर्पितास्तदु नात्येति कश्चन ।
एतद्वै तत्

2.1.10 यदेवेह तदमुत्र यदमुत्र तदन्विह ।
मृत्योः स मृत्युमाप्नोति य इह नानेव पश्यति

2.1.11 मनसैवेदमाप्तव्यं नेह नानाऽस्ति किंचन ।
मृत्योः स मृत्युं गच्छति य इह नानेव पश्यति

2.1.12 अङ्गुष्ठमात्रः पुरुषो मध्य आत्मनि तिष्ठति ।
ईशानं भूतभव्यस्य न ततो विजुगुप्सते ।
एतद्वै तत्

2.1.13 अङ्गुष्ठमात्रः पुरुषो ज्योतिरिवाधूमकः ।
ईशानो भूतभव्यस्य स एवाद्य स उ श्वः ।
एतद्वै तत्

2.1.14 यथोदकं दुर्गे वृष्टं पर्वतेषु विधावति ।
एवं धर्मान् पृथक् पश्यंस्तानेवानुविधावति

2.1.15 यथोदकं शुद्धे शुद्धमासिक्तं तादृगेव भवति ।
एवं मुनेर्विजानत आत्मा भवति गौतम

### Part Two, Second Valli

2.2.1 पुरमेकादशद्वारमजस्यावक्रचेतसः ।
अनुष्ठाय न शोचति विमुक्तश्च विमुच्यते ।
एतद्वै तत्

2.2.2 हँसः शुचिषद्वसुरान्तरिक्षसद्-
होता वेदिषदतिथिर्दुरोणसत् ।
नृषद्वरसदृतसद्व्योमसद्
अब्जा गोजा ऋतजा अद्रिजा ऋतं बृहत्

2.2.3 ऊर्ध्वं प्राणमुन्नयत्यपानं प्रत्यगस्यति ।
मध्ये वामनमासीनं विश्वे देवा उपासते

2.2.4 अस्य विस्रंसमानस्य शरीरस्थस्य देहिनः ।
देहाद्विमुच्यमानस्य किमत्र परिशिष्यते ।
एतद्वै तत्

2.2.5 न प्राणेन नापानेन मर्त्यो जीवति कश्चन ।
इतरेण तु जीवन्ति यस्मिन्नेतावुपाश्रितौ

2.2.6 हन्त त इदं प्रवक्ष्यामि गुह्यं ब्रह्म सनातनम् ।
यथा च मरणं प्राप्य आत्मा भवति गौतम

2.2.7 योनिमन्ये प्रपद्यन्ते शरीरत्वाय देहिनः ।
स्थाणुमन्येऽनुसंयन्ति यथाकर्म यथाश्रुतम्

2.2.8 य एष सुप्तेषु जागर्ति कामं कामं पुरुषो निर्मिमाणः ।
तदेव शुक्रं तद्ब्रह्म तदेवामृतमुच्यते ।
तस्मिँल्लोकाः श्रिताः सर्वे तदु नात्येति कश्चन ।
एतद्वै तत्

2.2.9 अग्निर्यथैको भुवनं प्रविष्टो
रूपं रूपं प्रतिरूपो बभूव ।
एकस्तथा सर्वभूतान्तरात्मा
रूपं रूपं प्रतिरूपो बहिश्च

2.2.10 वायुर्यथैको भुवनं प्रविष्टो
रूपं रूपं प्रतिरूपो बभूव ।
एकस्तथा सर्वभूतान्तरात्मा
रूपं रूपं प्रतिरूपो बहिश्च

2.2.11 सूर्यो यथा सर्वलोकस्य चक्षुः
न लिप्यते चाक्षुषैर्बाह्यदोषैः ।
एकस्तथा सर्वभूतान्तरात्मा
न लिप्यते लोकदुःखेन बाह्यः

2.2.12 एको वशी सर्वभूतान्तरात्मा
एकं रूपं बहुधा यः करोति ।
तमात्मस्थं येऽनुपश्यन्ति धीराः
तेषां सुखं शाश्वतं नेतरेषाम्

2.2.13 नित्योऽनित्यानां चेतनश्चेतनानाम्
एको बहूनां यो विदधाति कामान् ।
तमात्मस्थं येऽनुपश्यन्ति धीराः
तेषां शान्तिः शाश्वती नेतरेषाम्

2.2.14 तदेतदिति मन्यन्तेऽनिर्देश्यं परमं सुखम् ।
कथं नु तद्विजानीयां किमु भाति विभाति वा

2.2.15 न तत्र सूर्यो भाति न चन्द्रतारकं
नेमा विद्युतो भान्ति कुतोऽयमग्निः ।
तमेव भान्तमनुभाति सर्वं
तस्य भासा सर्वमिदं विभाति

### Part Two, Third Valli

2.3.1 ऊर्ध्वमूलोऽवाक्शाख एषोऽश्वत्थः सनातनः ।
तदेव शुक्रं तद्ब्रह्म तदेवामृतमुच्यते ।
तस्मिँल्लोकाः श्रिताः सर्वे तदु नात्येति कश्चन ।
एतद्वै तत्

2.3.2 यदिदं किं च जगत् सर्वं प्राण एजति निःसृतम् ।
महद्भयं वज्रमुद्यतं य एतद्विदुरमृतास्ते भवन्ति

2.3.3 भयादस्याग्निस्तपति भयात्तपति सूर्यः ।
भयादिन्द्रश्च वायुश्च मृत्युर्धावति पञ्चमः

2.3.4 इह चेदशकद्बोद्धुं प्राक्षरीरस्य विस्रसः ।
ततः सर्गेषु लोकेषु शरीरत्वाय कल्पते

2.3.5 यथाऽऽदर्शे तथाऽऽत्मनि यथा स्वप्ने तथा पितृलोके ।
यथाऽप्सु परीव ददृशे तथा गन्धर्वलोके
छायातपयोरिव ब्रह्मलोके

2.3.6 इन्द्रियाणां पृथग्भावमुदयास्तमयौ च यत् ।
पृथगुत्पद्यमानानां मत्वा धीरो न शोचति

2.3.7 इन्द्रियेभ्यः परं मनो मनसः सत्त्वमुत्तमम् ।
सत्त्वादधि महानात्मा महतोऽव्यक्तमुत्तमम्

2.3.8 अव्यक्तात्तु परः पुरुषो व्यापकोऽलिङ्ग एव च ।
यं ज्ञात्वा मुच्यते जन्तुरमृतत्वं च गच्छति

2.3.9 न संदृशे तिष्ठति रूपमस्य
न चक्षुषा पश्यति कश्चनैनम् ।
हृदा मनीषा मनसाऽभिक्लृप्तो
य एतद्विदुरमृतास्ते भवन्ति

2.3.10 यदा पञ्चावतिष्ठन्ते ज्ञानानि मनसा सह ।
बुद्धिश्च न विचेष्टते तामाहुः परमां गतिम्

2.3.11 तां योगमिति मन्यन्ते स्थिरामिन्द्रियधारणाम् ।
अप्रमत्तस्तदा भवति योगो हि प्रभवाप्ययौ

2.3.12 नैव वाचा न मनसा प्राप्तुं शक्यो न चक्षुषा ।
अस्तीति ब्रुवतोऽन्यत्र कथं तदुपलभ्यते

2.3.13 अस्तीत्येवोपलब्धव्यस्तत्त्वभावेन चोभयोः ।
अस्तीत्येवोपलब्धस्य तत्त्वभावः प्रसीदति

2.3.14 यदा सर्वे प्रमुच्यन्ते कामा येऽस्य हृदि श्रिताः ।
अथ मर्त्योऽमृतो भवत्यत्र ब्रह्म समश्नुते

2.3.15 यथा सर्वे प्रभिद्यन्ते हृदयस्येह ग्रन्थयः ।
अथ मर्त्योऽमृतो भवत्येतावद्ध्यनुशासनम्

2.3.16 शतं चैका च हृदयस्य नाड्य-
स्तासां मूर्धानमभिनिःसृतैका ।
तयोर्ध्वमायन्नमृतत्वमेति
विष्वङ्ङन्या उत्क्रमणे भवन्ति

2.3.17 अङ्गुष्ठमात्रः पुरुषोऽन्तरात्मा
सदा जनानां हृदये संनिविष्टः ।
तं स्वाच्छरीरात्प्रवृहेन्मुञ्जादिवेषीकां धैर्येण ।
तं विद्याच्छुक्रममृतं तं विद्याच्छुक्रममृतमिति

2.3.18 मृत्युप्रोक्तां नचिकेतोऽथ लब्ध्वा
विद्यामेतां योगविधिं च कृत्स्नम् ।
ब्रह्मप्राप्तो विरजोऽभूद्विमृत्यु-
रन्योऽप्येवं यो विदध्यात्ममेव

सह नाववतु ।
सह नौ भुनक्तु ।
सह वीर्यं करवावहै ।
तेजस्विनावधीतमस्तु मा विद्विषावहै ॥ १९ ॥
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥
ॐ सह नाववतु ।
सह नौ भुनक्तु ।
सहवीर्यं करवावहै ।
तेजस्वि नावधीतमस्तु ।
मा विद्विषावहै ॥
ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥
ॐ तत् सत् ॥

## Translation — Mouseia

> Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the Sanskrit, passage for passage, covering both chapters, all six vallīs and 119 verses with the peace invocation.

### Part One, First Valli

Om. May he protect us both.
May he nourish us both.
May we work together with strength.
May our study shine brightly.
May we not hate one another.
Om. Peace, peace, peace.

1.1.1 Om. Vajashravasa, seeking favor, gave away all he possessed.
He had a son named Nachiketas.

1.1.2 As the gifts were being led away, faith entered
that boy's heart, and he thought:

1.1.3 “Cows that have drunk their water, eaten their grass, yielded their milk, lost their strength—
joyless indeed are the worlds reached by one who gives such gifts.”

1.1.4 He said to his father, “Father, to whom will you give me?”
A second time, then a third, he asked; his father said, “To Death I give you.”

1.1.5 “Among many I rank first; among many I rank midway.
What task has Yama that he will accomplish through me today?”

1.1.6 “Look back at those before us; look also at those who follow.
Like grain a mortal ripens; like grain he is born again.”

1.1.7 “A Brahmin guest enters houses like the universal fire.
To appease him they offer this: ‘Son of the Sun, bring water!’”

1.1.8 Hopes and expectations, the fruit of fellowship and kind words,
the fruit of sacrifice and good works, sons and cattle—all these
are stripped from the man of little understanding
in whose house a Brahmin dwells without food.

1.1.9 “Three nights you have stayed in my house
without food, Brahmin, an honored guest.
Homage to you, Brahmin; may all be well with me.
For this choose three wishes in return.”

1.1.10 “May Gautama be calm of purpose and gracious,
free of anger toward me, O Death;
when you send me back, may he greet me with recognition.
This I choose as the first of my three wishes.”

1.1.11 “As before, he will recognize you;
Aruni Auddalaki will greet you when I send you back.
He will sleep peacefully at night, his anger gone,
when he sees you freed from the mouth of Death.”

1.1.12 “In heaven's world there is no fear at all;
you are not there, nor does anyone fear old age.
Crossing beyond both hunger and thirst,
free of sorrow, one rejoices in heaven's world.

1.1.13 You know the fire that leads to heaven, O Death;
tell me of it, for I have faith.
Those who dwell in heaven share in immortality:
this I choose for my second wish.”

1.1.14 “I shall tell you; attend to my words,
Nachiketas, for I know the heavenly fire.
Know it as the means of attaining endless worlds, the foundation,
this fire hidden in the heart's secret place.”

1.1.15 He taught him the fire that is the origin of worlds,
what bricks to use, how many, and how to place them.
Nachiketas repeated it just as he had been taught;
then Death, pleased, spoke to him again.

1.1.16 Delighted, the great one said to him,
“Here and now I give you another gift.
This fire shall bear your own name;
take also this necklace of many forms.

1.1.17 One who performs the Nachiketas fire three times, joins with the three,
and carries out the three works crosses birth and death.
Knowing the worshipful god born of Brahman,
and recognizing him, one reaches this everlasting peace.

1.1.18 One who performs the Nachiketas fire three times and knows these three things,
and, knowing, builds the Nachiketas fire,
casts off the snares of Death before him
and, free of sorrow, rejoices in heaven's world.

1.1.19 This, Nachiketas, is the heavenly fire
you chose as your second wish.
People will call this fire by your name alone.
Choose your third wish, Nachiketas.”

1.1.20 “When a person has died, this doubt arises:
some say he exists, others that he does not.
I would know this, instructed by you;
this is the third of my wishes.”

1.1.21 “Even the gods once doubted this;
it is no easy thing to know, so subtle is this truth.
Choose another wish, Nachiketas;
do not press me. Release me from this.”

1.1.22 “Even the gods doubted this, you say,
and you, Death, say it is not easy to know.
No other teacher like you can be found;
no other wish can equal this one.”

1.1.23 “Choose sons and grandsons who live a hundred years,
many cattle, elephants, gold, and horses.
Choose a vast domain on earth;
live yourself for as many autumns as you wish.

1.1.24 If you think another wish equal to this,
choose wealth and long life.
Become lord of a broad land, Nachiketas;
I shall make you the enjoyer of every desire.

1.1.25 Whatever desires are hard to obtain in the mortal world,
ask freely for them all.
Here are lovely women with chariots and music,
such as mortals cannot attain.
Let them serve you; I give them to you.
Nachiketas, do not ask me about death.”

1.1.26 “Such things last only until tomorrow, O Ender of life,
and wear away the vigor of all the senses.
Even the whole of life is brief.
Keep your horses, your dancing and song.

1.1.27 Wealth can never satisfy a human being.
We shall have wealth if we have seen you;
we shall live as long as you permit us.
But the wish I choose is still that one.

1.1.28 When an aging mortal has met the deathless who do not age,
and knows what lies beneath, how could he
delight in colors, pleasures, and celebrations,
or in a life stretched out for long?

1.1.29 Tell us, Death, what they doubt:
what happens in the great passage beyond.
This wish penetrates the hidden mystery;
Nachiketas chooses no other.”

### Part One, Second Valli

1.2.1 The good is one thing, the pleasant another;
both bind a person, each to a different end.
All goes well for one who takes the good;
one who chooses the pleasant misses the true aim.

1.2.2 The good and the pleasant approach a human being;
the wise consider both and distinguish them.
The wise choose the good over the pleasant;
the foolish choose the pleasant for gain and security.

1.2.3 You, Nachiketas, saw and rejected
desires, lovely and seemingly dear.
You did not take the necklace made of wealth
in which so many people sink.

1.2.4 Far apart, opposed, leading in different directions
are what are called ignorance and knowledge.
I consider Nachiketas a seeker of knowledge;
your many desires have not enticed you.

1.2.5 Living in the midst of ignorance,
thinking themselves wise and learned,
fools wander in circles, stumbling,
like the blind led by the blind.

1.2.6 The world beyond does not appear to the child
made heedless and deluded by wealth.
Thinking, “This world alone exists; there is no other,”
he falls again and again into my power.

1.2.7 Many never even have the chance to hear of him;
many who hear do not understand him.
Wondrous is his teacher, skillful his seeker;
wondrous is one who knows him, taught by the skillful.

1.2.8 Taught by a lesser person, this one cannot easily
be understood, however much one ponders him.
When taught by one who is not other than him, doubt has no foothold;
he is subtler than the measure of the subtle, beyond reasoning.

1.2.9 This insight cannot be reached by argument;
taught by another, it is well understood, dear one.
You have attained it; you are steadfast in truth.
May we have more questioners like you, Nachiketas.

1.2.10 I know that the treasure called wealth is impermanent;
what endures cannot be reached through things that do not.
Yet I built the Nachiketas fire,
and with transient things attained the enduring.

1.2.11 Fulfillment of desire, foundation of the world,
limitless fruit of ritual, the shore beyond fear,
the great and widely praised foundation—you saw these
and, wise Nachiketas, resolutely let them go.

1.2.12 Knowing through inward contemplation the ancient god,
hard to see, hidden deep within,
seated in the secret chamber of the heart,
the wise leave both joy and sorrow behind.

1.2.13 Hearing this, a mortal takes it to heart,
draws out and reaches this subtle truth of being.
Having found what brings delight, he rejoices;
I believe the door stands open to Nachiketas.

1.2.14 “What you see beyond right and wrong,
beyond what is done and what is not done,
beyond what has been and what will be—
tell me of that.”

1.2.15 “The goal proclaimed by all the Vedas,
spoken of by every austerity,
for which people undertake the disciplined life:
I tell you in brief. It is Om.

1.2.16 This very syllable is Brahman; this syllable is the supreme.
Knowing this very syllable, one obtains what one desires.

1.2.17 This is the finest support; this is the supreme support.
Knowing this support, one is exalted in the world of Brahman.

1.2.18 The knowing Self is neither born nor dies;
it did not spring from anything, nor did anything spring from it.
Unborn, eternal, everlasting, ancient,
it is not killed when the body is killed.

1.2.19 If the killer thinks he kills, or the killed thinks he is killed,
neither understands: this one neither kills nor is killed.

1.2.20 Smaller than the small, greater than the great,
the Self lies hidden in a creature's heart.
One without desire, freed from sorrow, sees
through the serenity of the senses the majesty of the Self.

1.2.21 Sitting still, it travels far; lying down, it goes everywhere.
Who but I can know that god, who is joy and beyond joy?

1.2.22 Bodiless among bodies, abiding among the unstable,
the great, all-pervading Self: knowing it, the wise do not grieve.

1.2.23 This Self cannot be gained through recitation,
nor by intellect, nor by hearing much.
It is gained by the one whom the Self chooses;
to that one the Self reveals its own form.

1.2.24 Not one who has failed to turn from wrongdoing, nor one who lacks peace or composure,
nor one whose mind is restless can reach it through understanding.

1.2.25 For whom both priestly and royal power are food,
and Death is a seasoning—who truly knows where that one is?”

### Part One, Third Valli

1.3.1 Two drink the truth in the world of good deeds,
having entered the heart's cavern, the highest hidden place.
Knowers of Brahman call them shadow and light,
as do those who tend five fires and perform the Nachiketas rite three times.

1.3.2 May we master the Nachiketas fire, bridge for sacrificers, and that supreme imperishable Brahman,
the fearless farther shore for those who seek to cross.

1.3.3 Know the Self as the rider in a chariot, the body as the chariot;
know the intellect as the charioteer, the mind as the reins.

1.3.4 The senses, they say, are horses, and their objects are the roads they range.
The wise call the Self joined with senses and mind the one who experiences.

1.3.5 If a person lacks understanding and the mind is never controlled,
the senses run wild, like vicious horses under a charioteer.

1.3.6 But if a person has understanding and the mind is always controlled,
the senses obey, like fine horses under a charioteer.

1.3.7 One who lacks understanding, whose mind is unruly and who remains impure,
does not reach that goal, but enters the cycle of rebirth.

1.3.8 But one who has understanding, whose mind is steady and who remains pure,
reaches that goal from which one is never born again.

1.3.9 The person whose charioteer is understanding, who holds the reins of the mind,
reaches the journey's far shore, that highest abode of Vishnu.

1.3.10 Beyond the senses are their objects; beyond the objects is the mind.
Beyond the mind is the intellect; beyond the intellect is the Great Self.

1.3.11 Beyond the Great Self is the Unmanifest; beyond the Unmanifest is the Person.
Beyond the Person there is nothing: that is the limit, the highest goal.

1.3.12 This Self is hidden in all beings and does not shine forth;
but the discerning see it with the keen and subtle intellect.

1.3.13 The wise should draw speech into the mind, and the mind into the knowing self;
draw the knowing self into the Great Self, and that into the Self at peace.

1.3.14 Rise. Awake.
Reach the excellent teachers and understand.
The razor's edge is sharp and hard to cross;
the wise say that path is difficult.

1.3.15 What has no sound, touch, form, or decay,
no taste or smell, what endures forever,
without beginning or end, beyond the Great Self, unchanging—
knowing that, one is freed from the mouth of Death.

1.3.16 The ancient story of Nachiketas, told by Death:
the wise who recite it or hear it are honored in Brahman's world.

1.3.17 Whoever recites this supreme secret in an assembly of Brahmins,
or in purity at the time of offerings to ancestors, becomes fit for eternity.
Yes, becomes fit for eternity.

### Part Two, First Valli

2.1.1 The Self-existent made the openings of the senses face outward;
so one looks outward, not into the inner Self.
But a certain wise one, longing for immortality,
turned his gaze back and saw the Self within.

2.1.2 The foolish pursue desires outside themselves
and enter the far-flung snare of Death.
But the wise, knowing immortality,
do not seek the lasting among transient things here.

2.1.3 By that one knows form, taste, scent, sound, touch, and the pleasures of union.
What remains here beyond its knowing?
This indeed is that.

2.1.4 By that one sees both the realm of dreams and the realm of waking.
Knowing the great, all-pervading Self, the wise do not grieve.

2.1.5 Whoever knows at close hand this living Self, the enjoyer of sweetness,
the lord of what has been and what will be, no longer recoils from anything.
This indeed is that.

2.1.6 Whoever has seen among beings the one born of ardor in the beginning, born before the waters,
and standing within the secret chamber of the heart—
this indeed is that.

2.1.7 She who arises with the breath of life, Aditi filled with the gods,
who entered the heart's chamber and stands there, born along with beings—
this indeed is that.

2.1.8 The all-knowing fire rests in the two fire-sticks, well tended like an embryo in the womb.
Day after day Agni is worthy of worship by watchful people who bring offerings.
This indeed is that.

2.1.9 That from which the sun rises, and into which it sets:
all gods rest in it; none passes beyond it.
This indeed is that.

2.1.10 What is here is just what is there; what is there is likewise here.
From death to death goes one who sees multiplicity here.

2.1.11 Only by the mind can this be grasped; there is no multiplicity here at all.
From death to death goes one who sees multiplicity here.

2.1.12 The thumb-sized Person stands in the center of the self,
lord of what has been and what will be; one no longer recoils from anything.
This indeed is that.

2.1.13 The thumb-sized Person is like a flame without smoke,
lord of what has been and what will be; he is today and he is tomorrow.
This indeed is that.

2.1.14 As rain falling on steep mountains runs down in many streams,
so one who sees the natures of things as separate runs after them.

2.1.15 As pure water poured into pure water becomes just like it,
so becomes the Self of the sage who knows, Gautama.

### Part Two, Second Valli

2.2.1 One who attends to the eleven-gated city of the unborn, whose awareness is unwavering,
does not grieve; set free, one is released.
This indeed is that.

2.2.2 The swan dwelling in purity, the spirit dwelling in the middle air,
the priest at the altar, the guest within the home,
dwelling in people, in the best, in truth, in the sky,
born of waters, born of cattle, born of truth, born of stone: the great truth.

2.2.3 It draws the upward breath upward and drives the downward breath down;
all the gods worship the small one seated in their midst.

2.2.4 When this embodied being dwelling in the body is loosened,
when it is released from the body, what remains here?
This indeed is that.

2.2.5 No mortal lives by the upward or the downward breath.
They live by something other, on which both these breaths depend.

2.2.6 Now I will tell you of the hidden, eternal Brahman,
and what becomes of the Self when death arrives, Gautama.

2.2.7 Some embodied beings enter wombs to take on bodies;
others pass into things that stand still, according to their deeds and understanding.

2.2.8 The Person who stays awake among sleepers, fashioning desire after desire:
that alone is the pure, that is Brahman, that is called immortal.
In it all worlds are founded; none passes beyond it.
This indeed is that.

2.2.9 As a single fire enters the world
and assumes the form of each form,
so the one Self within all beings
assumes each form and yet remains outside them.

2.2.10 As a single wind enters the world
and assumes the form of each form,
so the one Self within all beings
assumes each form and yet remains outside them.

2.2.11 As the sun, the eye of the whole world,
is not stained by the outward flaws of the eyes,
so the one Self within all beings
is not stained by the world's suffering; it remains beyond.

2.2.12 The one sovereign Self within all beings
makes its one form manifold.
The wise who see it dwelling within themselves
have everlasting joy, and no others do.

2.2.13 The eternal among transient things, the conscious among conscious beings,
the one who supplies the desires of the many:
the wise who see it dwelling within themselves
have everlasting peace, and no others do.

2.2.14 They think, “This is that,” the supreme joy beyond description.
How could I know it? Does it shine, or does it shine by another's light?

2.2.15 There the sun does not shine, nor moon nor stars;
lightning does not shine there, let alone this fire.
All things shine only after that shining one;
by its light all this is lit.

### Part Two, Third Valli

2.3.1 This eternal fig tree has its roots above, its branches below.
That alone is the pure; that is Brahman, that is called immortal.
In it all worlds are founded; none passes beyond it.
This indeed is that.

2.3.2 All this world, whatever exists, trembles in the life-breath from which it has emerged.
It is a great terror, a thunderbolt raised high; those who know it become immortal.

2.3.3 In fear of it fire burns; in fear of it the sun shines.
In fear of it Indra and the wind, and Death as the fifth, speed on.

2.3.4 If one can know it here before the body falls apart—
otherwise one is bound to take a body in the worlds of created things.

2.3.5 As in a mirror, so in the self; as in a dream, so in the world of the ancestors.
As seen, faintly, in water, so in the world of the Gandharvas;
as light against shadow, so in the world of Brahman.

2.3.6 Knowing the senses as distinct, and their arising and setting,
each coming into being separately, the wise do not grieve.

2.3.7 Beyond the senses is the mind; above the mind is the higher intellect.
Above the intellect is the Great Self; above the Great Self is the Unmanifest.

2.3.8 Beyond the Unmanifest is the Person, all-pervading and without mark.
Knowing him, a living being is freed and reaches immortality.

2.3.9 His form does not stand within sight;
no one sees him with the eyes.
He is apprehended through heart, discernment, and mind;
those who know this become immortal.

2.3.10 When the five senses of knowledge rest, together with the mind,
and the intellect no longer stirs, that is called the highest state.

2.3.11 This, they hold, is yoga: the steady holding of the senses.
One must then be vigilant, for yoga comes and goes.

2.3.12 Not by speech or mind or eyes can he be reached.
How else can he be grasped, except by saying, “He is”?

2.3.13 One must apprehend him as existing and also in his true nature, both ways.
For one who has apprehended him as existing, his true nature becomes clear.

2.3.14 When all desires lodged in a person's heart are released,
then the mortal becomes immortal and reaches Brahman here.

2.3.15 When all the knots of the heart are cut apart here,
then the mortal becomes immortal. This is the whole teaching.

2.3.16 A hundred and one channels run from the heart;
one of them rises through the crown of the head.
Ascending by that one, a person reaches immortality;
the others lead in every direction at departure.

2.3.17 The thumb-sized Person, the inner Self,
is always lodged in the hearts of people.
Draw him steadily out of your own body, as a stalk from a reed.
Know him as pure and immortal; know him as pure and immortal.

2.3.18 Nachiketas received this knowledge spoken by Death,
and the entire discipline of yoga.
He attained Brahman, free of stain and death;
so does anyone else who comes to know the Self in this way.

May he protect us both.
May he nourish us both.
May we work together with strength.
May our study shine brightly; may we not hate one another.
Om. Peace, peace, peace.
Om. May he protect us both.
May he nourish us both.
May we work together with strength.
May our study shine brightly.
May we not hate one another.
Om. Peace, peace, peace.
Om. That is the Real.

## Translation — Mouseia

> Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from the Sanskrit, covering both chapters, all six vallīs and 119 verses with the peace invocation.

### Part One, First Valli

Om. May he protect us both.
May he nourish us both.
May we work together with strength.
May our study be fruitful.
May we not hate one another.
Om. Peace, peace, peace.

1.1.1 Om. Vajashravasa, wanting a reward, gave away everything he owned.
He had a son named Nachiketas.

1.1.2 As the gifts were being taken away, faith came over
his young son, and he thought:

1.1.3 “They have drunk their water, eaten their grass, given their milk, and lost their strength.
Whoever gives such cows goes to worlds without joy.”

1.1.4 He said to his father, “Father, to whom will you give me?”
He asked a second and third time. His father said, “I give you to Death.”

1.1.5 “Among many I rank first; among many I rank somewhere in the middle.
What does Yama have to do that he will do with me today?”

1.1.6 “Look at those who lived before, and look likewise at those who live now.
Like grain, a mortal ripens; like grain, a mortal is born again.”

1.1.7 “A Brahmin guest enters a home like fire.
To calm that fire they bring water. Son of the Sun, bring water.”

1.1.8 Hopes and expectations, good company and kind speech,
rewards for sacrifices and public works, sons and livestock, all of them:
these are taken away from a person of little understanding
when a Brahmin stays in his house without food.

1.1.9 “You have stayed in my house for three nights
without eating, honored Brahmin guest.
I bow to you, Brahmin. May all be well with me.
So choose three wishes in return.”

1.1.10 “May Gautama be free from worry and in good spirits,
no longer angry with me, Death.
When you release me, may he recognize me and speak to me.
I choose this as the first of my three wishes.”

1.1.11 “He will recognize you as before.
Aruni Auddalaki will accept you when I release you.
He will sleep peacefully at night, free of anger,
when he sees you freed from Death’s mouth.”

1.1.12 “In the world of heaven there is no fear at all;
you are not there, and people do not fear old age.
Having passed beyond both hunger and thirst,
people live happily there, beyond sorrow.”

1.1.13 “Death, you know the fire ritual that leads to heaven.
Teach it to me, since I trust you.
Those in heaven share in immortality.
This is what I choose as my second wish.”

1.1.14 “I will tell you; listen closely.
Nachiketas, I know the fire that leads to heaven.
Know it as the way to reach a world without end and as its foundation;
it is hidden in the heart’s secret place.”

1.1.15 He told Nachiketas about the fire that begins the worlds:
which bricks are needed, how many, and how they must be laid.
Nachiketas repeated it just as he had been taught.
Then Death, pleased with him, spoke again.

1.1.16 The great one spoke to him with pleasure:
“Today I give you one more wish.
This fire will be named after you.
Take this necklace with its many forms as well.”

1.1.17 Whoever performs the Nachiketas fire three times, joins with the three,
and does the three prescribed acts passes beyond birth and death.
Knowing the divine one, born of Brahman and worthy of praise,
and seeing this fire clearly, one reaches lasting peace.

1.1.18 Whoever knows these three things about the threefold Nachiketas fire
and builds it with that knowledge
pushes away the bonds of death before they close
and lives happily in heaven, beyond sorrow.

1.1.19 “This is the fire leading to heaven, Nachiketas,
which you chose as your second wish.
People will call this fire by your name.
Choose your third wish, Nachiketas.”

1.1.20 “When a person dies, there is this doubt:
some say the person still exists; others say the person does not.
I want you to teach me the answer.
This is the third of my wishes.”

1.1.21 “Even the gods once doubted this.
This truth is subtle and hard to understand.
Choose a different wish, Nachiketas.
Do not press me on this. Release me from this request.”

1.1.22 “Even the gods doubted it, you say,
and you, Death, say it is hard to understand.
No other teacher like you can be found,
and no other wish compares with this one.”

1.1.23 “Choose sons and grandsons who live a hundred years,
many cattle, elephants, gold, and horses.
Choose a large territory of land,
and live yourself for as many years as you wish.”

1.1.24 “If you think any wish compares with this, choose
wealth and a long life.
Nachiketas, rule a vast land.
I will let you enjoy every pleasure you desire.”

1.1.25 “Ask for any pleasures that are hard to get in the mortal world,
as many as you like.
Here are women with chariots and musical instruments;
no human being can obtain women like these.
Let them attend you as my gift,
Nachiketas. Do not ask about death.”

1.1.26 “Destroyer of life, these things last only until tomorrow;
they wear out the strength of all the senses.
Even a whole lifetime is short.
Keep your chariots, your dancing and your songs.

1.1.27 Wealth cannot satisfy a person.
If we have seen you, we will get wealth.
We will live as long as you allow us to.
But the wish I choose is still the same.

1.1.28 Once a mortal who grows old has met the immortals who do not age,
how could that person, living down here and understanding this,
after thinking about the pleasures of beauty and delight,
find pleasure in a very long life?

1.1.29 Death, tell us what people doubt:
what happens after the great passage beyond death.
This wish concerns a truth hidden deep away.
Nachiketas chooses no other.”

### Part One, Second Valli

1.2.1 The good is one thing and the pleasant another;
they have different aims, but both bind a person.
Things go well for someone who chooses the good;
someone who chooses the pleasant misses the true goal.

1.2.2 The good and the pleasant both come to a person.
A wise person weighs them and tells them apart.
The wise choose the good over the pleasant;
the foolish choose the pleasant to secure and keep what they have.

1.2.3 Nachiketas, you considered and turned away
pleasures that looked attractive to you.
You did not take the chain made of wealth
in which so many people sink.

1.2.4 What people call ignorance and knowledge go in opposite directions
and are far apart.
I think you want knowledge, Nachiketas;
many pleasures did not tempt you.

1.2.5 People living in ignorance
think they are wise and learned.
Confused, they wander around,
like blind people led by another blind person.

1.2.6 The life to come is not clear to a thoughtless person,
who is careless and confused by wealth.
Thinking, “This world exists, and no other does,”
such a person falls under my power again and again.

1.2.7 Many people never even get to hear about the Self;
many who hear about it still do not understand it.
The person who explains it is rare, and finding a skilled student is rare;
the person who understands it after skillful teaching is rare.

1.2.8 When someone of lesser understanding teaches it,
it cannot easily be understood, however much one thinks about it.
When taught by one who knows it as not separate from themselves, there is no confusion about the way to it;
it is subtler than the smallest measure and cannot be reached by reasoning.

1.2.9 This understanding cannot be reached by argument.
It becomes clear when taught by someone who knows it, dear one.
You have gained it, and you hold firmly to the truth.
May we have other questioners like you, Nachiketas.

1.2.10 I know that a treasure is impermanent;
what lasts cannot be reached by things that do not last.
So I built the Nachiketas fire;
with things that do not last, I reached what lasts.

1.2.11 You saw the fulfillment of desire, the foundation of the world,
the endless reward of sacrifice, the far shore of fearlessness,
the great and widely praised foundation;
but you wisely and firmly turned these things down, Nachiketas.

1.2.12 The ancient divine Self is hard to see, hidden deep within,
set in the heart's secret place.
By finding it through inward contemplation,
the wise person leaves both joy and sorrow behind.

1.2.13 When a mortal hears this, takes it in,
and separates out and reaches this subtle truth,
that person is glad, having found a source of gladness.
I think the door is open for you, Nachiketas.

1.2.14 “Tell me what you see that is beyond right
and wrong, beyond what is done and not done,
and beyond what has happened and what will happen.
Tell me about that.”

1.2.15 “All the Vedas speak of one goal,
and all acts of discipline point to it.
People live as students of sacred knowledge because they want it.
I will tell you briefly what it is: Om.

1.2.16 This syllable is indeed Brahman; this syllable is the highest reality.
Whoever knows this syllable gets what they desire.

1.2.17 It is the best support; it is the highest support.
Knowing this support, one is honored in the world of Brahman.

1.2.18 The knowing Self is not born and does not die;
it did not come from anything, nor did anything come from it.
Unborn, eternal, lasting, ancient,
it is not killed when the body is killed.

1.2.19 If a killer thinks they kill it, or someone killed thinks it has been killed,
neither understands. It does not kill and cannot be killed.

1.2.20 Smaller than the smallest and greater than the greatest,
the Self is hidden in the heart of every living being.
Someone without selfish desire sees it and is free of sorrow;
through the calm of the senses, that person sees the greatness of the Self.

1.2.21 Sitting still, it travels far; lying down, it goes everywhere.
Who but I can know this divine being, which is both joyful and beyond joy?

1.2.22 The Self has no body, yet stays in bodies that do not last.
Knowing this great, all-pervading Self, a wise person does not grieve.

1.2.23 The Self is not reached by instruction,
or by intelligence, or by hearing much teaching.
Only the person whom the Self chooses can reach it;
to that person the Self shows its own nature.

1.2.24 Someone who has not stopped wrongdoing, who is not calm or focused,
and whose mind is not at peace cannot reach it through understanding.

1.2.25 For the one to whom priests and warriors alike are food,
and death is a seasoning, who knows where that one is?

### Part One, Third Valli

1.3.1 Two beings drink the results of good deeds in this world;
they have entered the heart's cave, in the highest place.
Those who know Brahman call them shadow and sunlight,
as do those who maintain five fires and perform the threefold Nachiketas rite.

1.3.2 May we master the Nachiketas fire, a bridge for those who sacrifice,
and know the eternal, highest Brahman, the safe far shore for those who wish to cross.

1.3.3 Know the Self as the rider and the body as the chariot.
Know the intellect as the driver and the mind as the reins.

1.3.4 The senses are called the horses, and the things they perceive are their paths.
The wise call the Self, joined with the senses and mind, the one who experiences.

1.3.5 When someone lacks understanding and their mind is always uncontrolled,
their senses cannot be controlled, like bad horses for a driver.

1.3.6 But when someone understands and their mind is always controlled,
their senses can be controlled, like good horses for a driver.

1.3.7 Someone without understanding, whose mind is inattentive and who is never pure,
does not reach that goal but returns to the cycle of life and death.

1.3.8 But someone with understanding, whose mind is attentive and who is always pure,
reaches that goal, from which no one is born again.

1.3.9 A person whose driver is understanding and whose reins are the mind
reaches the journey's far end: the highest place of Vishnu.

1.3.10 The things perceived are beyond the senses, and the mind is beyond those things.
The intellect is beyond the mind, and the Great Self is beyond the intellect.

1.3.11 The Unmanifest is beyond the Great Self, and the Person is beyond the Unmanifest.
Nothing is beyond the Person. That is the final point, the highest goal.

1.3.12 This Self is hidden in all beings and does not appear openly.
But people with subtle insight see it through a keen and subtle intellect.

1.3.13 A wise person should draw speech into the mind and draw the mind into the knowing self.
They should draw that knowledge into the Great Self and that into the peaceful Self.

1.3.14 Get up! Wake up!
Go to the best teachers and learn.
The edge of a razor is sharp and hard to cross;
the wise say that this path is hard to follow.

1.3.15 It has no sound or touch or form and does not change;
it has no taste or smell and lasts forever.
It has no beginning or end; it is beyond the Great Self and remains fixed.
Knowing it, one is freed from the mouth of death.

1.3.16 A wise person who tells or hears this ancient story of Nachiketas,
which Death told, is honored in the world of Brahman.

1.3.17 Whoever, with care, tells this highest secret to a gathering of people who know Brahman,
or during the time of an offering for the dead, becomes fit for endless life.
Yes, fit for endless life.

### Part Two, First Valli

2.1.1 The Self-existent One made the senses face outward;
so people look outward, not at the Self within.
But one wise person turned their eyes inward and saw the inner Self,
wanting to be free from death.

2.1.2 Foolish people follow pleasures outside themselves
and enter death's wide-spread trap.
But wise people know there is freedom from death
and do not seek what lasts forever among things that do not last.

2.1.3 What is it through which one knows forms, tastes, smells, sounds, touches, and sexual pleasure?
What remains beyond it?
This is that.

2.1.4 Through it one sees both the dream state and the waking state.
Knowing the great Self that is everywhere, a wise person does not grieve.

2.1.5 One who knows this nearby living Self, which tastes life's rewards,
as the ruler of past and future, does not shrink away from anything after that.
This is that.

2.1.6 Whoever sees the one born before all else from the heat of creation, born before the waters,
who has entered and stays in the heart's cave among living beings:
this is that.

2.1.7 The divine mother Aditi, who comes to be with the life breath,
who has entered and stays in the heart's cave, and was born with living beings:
this is that.

2.1.8 Fire, which knows all that is born, is hidden in the two fire sticks, like a child carefully carried in a pregnant woman.
Every day, people who stay alert and bring offerings should honor the fire.
This is that.

2.1.9 It is where the sun rises and where it sets.
All the gods rest on it; no one goes beyond it.
This is that.

2.1.10 What is here is there; what is there is also here.
Whoever sees them as different here goes from death to death.

2.1.11 Only the mind can grasp this: there is no difference here at all.
Whoever sees difference here goes from death to death.

2.1.12 The thumb-sized Person lives at the center of the Self.
This ruler of past and future causes one to shrink away from nothing.
This is that.

2.1.13 The thumb-sized Person is like a flame without smoke.
Ruling past and future, it is the same today and tomorrow.
This is that.

2.1.14 As rainwater falling on a mountain runs down in different directions,
so someone who sees separate things runs after those very things.

2.1.15 As clean water poured into clean water becomes just like it,
so does the Self of a wise person who understands, Gautama.

### Part Two, Second Valli

2.2.1 The unborn one with clear awareness lives in a city with eleven gates.
Those who know it do not grieve; freed from bondage, they become free.
This is that.

2.2.2 It is the swan in the bright sky, the power in the air,
the priest at the altar, the guest in the house.
It lives in people, in the best place, in truth and in the heavens;
it is born of water, earth, truth, and mountains: the great truth.

2.2.3 It sends the breath of life upward and sends the downward breath inward.
All the gods honor the small being seated in the middle.

2.2.4 When the being living in this body separates from it
and is released from the body, what remains here?
This is that.

2.2.5 No mortal lives by the upward breath or the downward breath alone.
They live by something else on which both these breaths depend.

2.2.6 Now I will tell you about the secret, eternal Brahman,
and what happens to the Self after death, Gautama.

2.2.7 Some beings enter a womb to take on a body;
others enter what does not move, according to their actions and what they have learned.

2.2.8 The Person stays awake while others sleep and makes one desire after another.
It is pure; it is Brahman; it is called deathless.
All the worlds rest on it, and no one goes beyond it.
This is that.

2.2.9 Just as one fire enters the world
and takes a form matching each thing it burns,
so the one Self within all beings
takes on each form, yet also remains outside them.

2.2.10 Just as one wind enters the world
and takes a form matching each thing it enters,
so the one Self within all beings
takes on each form, yet also remains outside them.

2.2.11 Just as the sun, the eye of the whole world,
is not stained by the flaws of the eyes that see it,
so the one Self within all beings
is not stained by the world's suffering, for it remains outside it.

2.2.12 One ruler is the Self within all beings;
it turns its one form into many.
Only the wise who see it within themselves
have lasting happiness, and no one else does.

2.2.13 It is lasting among things that pass away, aware among those who are aware;
it is one and provides for the needs of many.
Only the wise who see it within themselves
have lasting peace, and no one else does.

2.2.14 People think, “This is that highest happiness, which cannot be described.”
How can I know it? Does it shine by itself, or does it shine through something else?

2.2.15 The sun does not shine there, nor do the moon and stars;
lightning does not shine there, much less this fire.
Everything shines because it shines;
its light makes all this bright.

### Part Two, Third Valli

2.3.1 This eternal ashvattha tree has its roots above and its branches below.
That alone is pure, that is Brahman, and that is called deathless.
All worlds rest on it, and no one goes beyond it.
This is that.

2.3.2 Everything in this world that has come forth moves within the life breath.
It is a great terror, like a raised thunderbolt. Those who know it become free from death.

2.3.3 Out of fear of it, fire burns; out of fear, the sun shines.
Out of fear, Indra and the wind move, and Death runs as the fifth.

2.3.4 If someone manages to understand it here before the body falls apart,
that person is no longer destined to take a body in the worlds of created beings.

2.3.5 It is seen as clearly as in a mirror here in the Self, and as in a dream in the world of the ancestors.
It is seen as if in water in the world of the Gandharvas,
and as light and shadow in the world of Brahman.

2.3.6 A wise person understands that the senses are separate,
that each arises separately and passes away, and does not grieve.

2.3.7 The mind is beyond the senses; awareness is higher than the mind.
The Great Self is above awareness, and the Unmanifest is higher than the Great Self.

2.3.8 The Person is beyond the Unmanifest; it is everywhere and has no identifying mark.
Knowing it, a living being is set free and reaches immortality.

2.3.9 Its form is not visible to the eye;
no one can see it with their eyes.
It is understood through the heart, discernment, and the mind.
Those who know it become free from death.

2.3.10 When the five senses become still together with the mind,
and the intellect stops working, that is called the highest state.

2.3.11 They call that yoga: holding the senses steady.
One must stay alert then, for yoga can arise and pass away.

2.3.12 It cannot be reached by speech, mind, or sight.
How could anyone perceive it except through someone who says, “It exists”?

2.3.13 It must be understood both as existing and as it truly is.
When it has been understood as existing, its true nature becomes clear.

2.3.14 When all the desires lodged in a person's heart are released,
that mortal becomes free from death and reaches Brahman here.

2.3.15 When all the knots in the heart are cut here,
that mortal becomes free from death. This is the whole teaching.

2.3.16 There are a hundred and one channels in the heart;
one of these goes up through the top of the head.
Going upward through it, one reaches immortality;
the others lead in different directions when one leaves the body.

2.3.17 The thumb-sized Person, the inner Self,
is always seated in people's hearts.
One should patiently draw it out of the body as one draws a stem from a blade of grass.
Know it as pure and deathless; know it as pure and deathless.

2.3.18 Nachiketas then received this knowledge taught by Death
and the complete method of yoga.
He reached Brahman, became free from impurity and death;
so does anyone else who comes to know the Self in this way.

May he protect us both.
May he nourish us both.
May we work together with strength.
May our study be fruitful; may we not hate one another.
Om. Peace, peace, peace.
Om. May he protect us both.
May he nourish us both.
May we work together with strength.
May our study be fruitful.
May we not hate one another.
Om. Peace, peace, peace.
Om. That is truth.